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Patient injuries, abuse, and neglect have continued at the Montana State Hospital since the state-run psychiatric facility lost its federal certification due to preventable patient deaths. But state officials won’t release details, citing laws making those reports confidential.
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State health officials Thursday updated lawmakers on their plan to improve care at the Montana State Hospital and to apply for federal recertification in roughly 18 months. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pulled certification following patient deaths, blocking Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements from flowing to the state hospital.
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Health officials estimate the state will lose $25 million if the state hospital doesn’t receive federal certification within the next two years.
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The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in February warned the state it could lose funding after they found that the Montana State Hospital didn’t have measures in place to prevent COVID-19 infections and serious falls among patients, which led to four deaths.
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Montana’s governor pushed the state’s health workers to seek religious exemptions to a federal mandate to be vaccinated against covid, but the number who have done so is unknown.
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The Montana State Hospital has received an extension to work out a possible deal with federal health officials to prevent the loss of Medicare funding.
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The hospital has until March 13 to correct the issues or it could lose federal Medicare funding.
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A hospital network northwest Montana is among the many health care systems in the state that will follow a federal rule requiring staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Hospitals that don’t comply could lose federal funding.
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Federal health officials will likely reject Montana’s request to include work requirements for beneficiaries of its Medicaid expansion program, which insures 100,000 low-income Montana adults, state officials said.
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A bill that would require pharmaceutical companies to disclose prescription drug cost information in Montana drew support from a wide range of health care officials Friday, and skepticism from others who don’t believe it would lower prices as intended.